I have used an Estwing for years. It always got th job done, and the head is not likely to get loose and come off.....

I guess you failed to read my full post. In my youth I had a tree-felling crew of 36 lumberjacks, 10 power saws and three tractors. I purchased and maintained the equipment, so I bought and sharpened axes and changed handles on a regular basis. I am not judging this particular axe because of its sharpness, I just commented on this feature, which I had never seen before. My last paragraph states that I'm going to field test it once temperatures drop. In any case this axe is way to light and short for tree-felling, and it's more of a general work axe. It means I can carry a short knife of 5 - 6" and leave the heavy work to my axe.

I got me a Wetterlings forest axe last fall. Through a stroke of luck, it sort of fell into my lap - didn't have to pay shipping.

I'm guessing that, because the Wetterlings axes are hand forged, the blacksmith sharpens them as well by hand. The QC on these things, being artisan crafted, must be top notch. The maker's initials are stamped on it and everything.

One thing I read (don't recall if this was on the Wetterlings site or if it was on the material provided with the axe) is that they recommend warming the axe head in cold temps - perhaps by sticking it down your pants or shirt for a bit or some such. Just FYI - I haven't had the need to use mine in cold weather yet.

There's a defense for future Lorena Bobbits:

"Your honor, I was just warming the axe."

While I certainly agree with you on most points, I have several hatchets in my blade collection that simply would not take an edge like a Wetterlings, irregardless of my skill level. The blade geometry simply would not permit it. The Collins for example is a fat wedge shape with a coarse flat grind. The blade is quite heavy and thick for a hatchet, and it has a very wide bevel that you might expect to see on a splitting maul. I have the skills and the honing and buffing equipment to put a better edge on it, but there is no way to change the shape of the blade without a cutlers grinding machines. The Wetterlings has a much slimmer profile and a concave grind, a shape which along with a quality steel lends itself to razor sharp honing. When you buy a blade online, you don't always know what you are going to get. GauchoViejo was obviously pleased with his purchase, ready out of the box, as was I when my new Wetterlings arrived on the UPS truck.

http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=SAW16H

just as a side note,you don't see as much info in the camping "how too do it" books on the ax and it's care and sharping as you once did.i have some older books that have not only the use of the hockey puck shaped stone but how to drive in stakes to hold the ax against a log so you can file with both hands,more control i guess. and some more detailed stuff on how to bury the head in such a way that a busted handle can be burned out without killing the temper of the edge.i have said this before,my Gransfors small hatchet is the only thing i ever cut myself on.i was carrying it a short way without the sheath and just brushed a finger on the back edge and got a surgical style cut,i pitched it shut and it stopped bleeding in a couple minutes..that's sharp.i would think when an axe was a tool used every day at work that they did not come with a sharp edge because every logger had his own way of doing that and getting it just right was a matter of personal pride.

I am always looking for old camping and hiking books. There is so much lore that has been nearly lost. That is why I admire guys like you who go to nature centers and give kids a taste of the past. Oddly enough, most of the old timers that I have read advise against hatchets in favor of a full sized axe. Some go as far as to say a full sized axe is the only indepensible survival tool that there is. They say that a hatchet is too small to be effective and dangerous to handle. One example is the 1971 book 'Backcountry Camping' by Bill Riviere. He has a chapter on backwoodsmans tools that really explores the axe. This guy looks exactly like I always thought a '50s backwoodsman should look. Floppy hat, boots, pipe, and a checkered flannel shirt. He lived the backwoods life that I wish I could live.

Many times, old timer advise is welcome. However from experience in the mountaineering community (and others), I know that a lot of the old time advise will get you killed, or worse, maimed enough that you wish you were dead.

The world of survival and bushcraft has changed over the years and what may of been sound advise from 39 years ago does not neccessarily mean that it is good advise today.

An ax or hatchet is a very capable tool in the right hands and when used with care. If you do not pay attention or use either tool in a manner it was not meant to be used, bad things will happen very fast.

Personally I prefer to carry a small hatchet when out backpacking and am well aware of it's limitations. In camp, an ax has it's better purpose over a hatchet, however each tool in the right hands is very capable of doing whatever I need.

I use axes almost every day. Love using them, but you really have to focus on what you are doing. With an axe, all sorts of factors (e.g., inexperience, exhaustion) can make a situation much worse with a single sloppy swing.

If I'm packing stuff on my back, I lean toward a good saw rather than an axe. Lighter, safer, and faster.

IMO the only hatchet worth considering is really a small axe: about 24" long with a somewhat heavier head than the average hatchet. A large Estwing with the tubular handle cut short is a good example of what I consider a minimum useful size (and you can slide it in your belt easily, sheathed of course).

I'm hesitant to buy a super-high-end axe. I'd be scared to take it out of the vault. And since winter is my high-use season, I pale at the thought of keeping it warm to avoid damage.

When I was first introduced to proper mountaineering techniques, we tied in with a single loop bowline tied on laid rope and routinely did body rappels (I had the scars to prove it). Mountaineering techniques certainly have changed for the better with the development of new technology and techniques (which are considerably more expensive, I might add).

I think it is a little different with the traditional woodcraft mode. Nowadays, with the rise of LNT and the need for lessened environmental footprints in heavily used recreational areas, bough beds, leantos hacked from living saplings, and even wood fires just don't compute anymore, especially in vast areas of the relatively arid West (unless we are talking about very unusual circumstances, like emergencies). The old woodcraft still works fine, but it is now just inappropriate.

Today, I go out garbed in fleece and other synthetics, even though they are susceptible to melting if contacted with hot embers from a wood fire. I have kindled hundreds of wood fires over the years, but today, I routinely carry some kind of a stove. The last wood fire I built was twelve years ago (when our gas stove crapped out). If you build wood fires, wool clothing is much better, but wood fires, and a lot of other traditional techniques, in many areas just don't make a lot of sense.

I am particularly fond of a Pulaski (axe variation), an extraordinarily versatile tool. It needs to be used with care, but so does a Primus stove, or a GPS.